Elastic fabric



S. F. SlClLlANO ELASTIC FABRIC Aug. 27, 1957 Filed April 27, V1956 m Q E Q mum United States ELASTIC FABRIC Application April 27, 1956, Serial No. 581,657

' Claims. c1. 139 423 The present invention relates to elastic fabrics and has as its object the provision of a novel fabric or tape of this type which shall have increased endurance, greater contractive effort, improved appearance, and firmer body, and which shall be capable of being economically woven at a faster rate of production than prior fabrics of this kind.

These elastic tapes are commonly woven as two-ply fabrics in order to get more rubber warps within a given width, so as to increase the contractive effort, and also to give body to the tape so that it wil lie fiat in use. Heretofore in certain instances the plies have been joined together at intervals in the length and width of the tape by passing the elastic warps through the fabric at such points from one surface to the'other. But this construction puts bends in such elastic warps at these points causing an extra strain at the bends when the fabric is stretched, which results in early breakage and failure of the rubber warps thereat. Not only does such failure of the rubber warps weaken the contractive effort of the fabric, but the broken ends of the rubbers protrude from the surfaces of the tape, giving it an extremely unsightly appearance.

These fabrics have conventionally been produced on a single shuttle loom with the wefts of the two plies inserted one at a time, and this factor has limited the rate of production.

The improved fabric consists of two plies of either identical or dissimilar weaves, joined at the selva'ges, woven simultaneously one above the other in a double shuttle loom. Each ply comprises covered or bare rubber warps interwoven solely with the non-elastic fibrous weft yarn proper to such ply. The two plies are united, preferably at very pick, by non-elastic binder warps, and these serve also to limit the stretch of the fabric to their own length or less and prevent the rubber warps from being stretched to the breaking point. Thus the bends in the rubber warps at the surfaces of the fabric are eliminated, avoiding breakage from this source, and also the disfiguring pits in the surfaces caused by these bends both when the fabric is relaxed and when it is extended or are done away with.

An added feature of improvement is the novel attractive selvage attained through inserting the wefts by double shuttles. By carrying the wefts from both shuttles simultaneously under the rubber selvage warp or warps and then returning both these wefts over the selvage warp, at each edge of the fabric, both wefts are bound simultaneously at the selvage, making a neat, pleasing and durable selvage edge.

Other objects of the invention, and the manner of their attainment are as set forth herein.

A11 illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the acompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic face view of the fabric, indicating the course and manner of crossng of the component warp and weft elements.

atent Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic end view of the fabric of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic end view of the fabric after removal from the loom.

The invention is shown by way of example in a narrow elastic fabric or tape, though it of course can be made of any desired width by repeating the weave of the bracketed zone of Fig. 2.

Rubber cords 5, covered or bare, are paired in the selvages, the two members of each pair being worked identically with respect to the wefts. Two separate wefts are employed, being inserted simultaneously by a double shuttle loom, the weft 7 from the top shuttle weaving the top ply of the fabric, and the weft 9 weaving the bottom ply of the fabric, exclusively except at the selvage portions 1, 3.

The top ply is composed of rubber warps 11 run under full tension and interwoven plain with top shuttle weft 7. The bottom ply is likewise composed of rubber warps 15 inserted under full tension and similarly interwoven plain with bottom shuttle weft 9, these yarns of each ply being completely independent of the other ply throughout the areas between the selvage portions 1 and 3. Nonelastic fibrous binder warps 13 intervene at intervals between two rubber warps 11, 15.

Characteiistically, top shuttle weft 7 is woven identically with respect to each rubber warp 11 and its adjacent binder warp 13. Bottom shuttle weft 9 forming the lower ply is likewise woven identically with respect to each rubber warp 15 and adjacent binder warp 13 en: gaged by the top ply warp 7 as just stated. Binder warp 13 thus unites both plies of the fabric at each pick. As a result of this construction, however, this binder warp is confined solely to a plane at mid-thickness of the dou ble fabric, and is wholly buried in the fabric because, as shown in Fig. 3 after beating-up, its associated rubber warps 11 and 15 assume positions respectively directly above and below it. The rubber warps lie in two distinct parallel planes, except at the selvage. Hence no pitting or marring of either face of the fabric occurs, by reason of the binding together of the two plies or otherwise. Both faces present an identical smooth and unbroken appearance characterized by a longitudinally finely-ribbed surface, with straight and cleanly defined wales, whether in contracted or in stretched condition.

The binder warps assume nearly the form of a straight line when the fabric is stretched, and prevent the rubber warps from being stretched beyond the tension at which the latter are woven into the fabric. This keeps the rubber warps from being extended to their breaking point. They lie perfectly straight in the fabric with neither deviation nor undulation and at no place pass from one ply to the other. Thus avoiding bending, the extra strain otherwise arising at the bends when stretched and the resultant early breakage are eliminated.

The superposed arrangement of each rubber top-ply warp directly over each bottom-ply rubber warp, Fig. 3, permits a greater amount of rubber to be put into a given width of fabric to increase its contractive effort, with no increase in the diameter of the rubbers which would otherwise give the face and back a less desirable rowy appearance. Heretofore, when the rubber warps were used as binders, they spread the rubbers of the other ply where such warps pass into this other ply.

Additionally, non-elastic fibrous warps 17 may be run between the two plies to assist the binder warps 13 in limiting the stretch of the fabric. These warps 17 may be either laid in between the two plies without interweaving with the wefts of either system, as shown, or they may be bound at intervals by the wefts as desired. They also serve as filler warps to level the faces of the fabric,

by raising (or lowering) the wefts at the intervals between the rubbers. They also give more body to the fabric and do not materially increase its width.

The selvage portions 1, 3, are formed of three pairs of rubber warps 5, the two members of each pairv being worked alike with respect to the wefts. Thus, both wefts bind around the outermost pair, the next pair is interwoven solely with the top or bottom weft 9, and the third pair is interwoven solely with the bottom or top ply weft 7. The resulting selvage is as thin as the rest of the fabric, smooth and durable, with a corded edge, and with added strength derived from the pairing of the rubber warps.

Because the construction permits the insertion of the wefts in pairs simultaneously by a double shuttle loom, the rate of production is substantially doubled over that of fabrics requiring a single shuttle loom.

While I have illustrated and described a certain form in whigh the invention may be embodied, I am aware that many modifications may be made therein by any person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as'expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the particular form shown, or to the details of construction thereof, but what I do claim is:

1. Elastic fabric comprising in combination two plies each ply comprising elastic warps and a non-elastic weft yarn which are independent of the other ply except at the selvages, and non-elastic binder warps uniting the two plies and limiting the stretch of the elastic warps.

2. Elastic fabric comprising in combination top elastic warps, bottom elastic warps, a weft yarn engaging the top warps and not the bottom warps, a second weft yarn engaging the bottom warps and not the top warps, elastic selvage warps engaged by both wefts, and non-elastic binder warps engaged by both weft yarns.

3. Elastic fabric according to claim 2 in which additional non-elastic warps are interposed between the two sets of wefts. I 4. Elastic fabric composed of two plies each having elastic warps disposed solely in its respective ply, a weft yarn in each ply interwoven with the elastic warps of its own ply alone, non-elastic binder warps engaged by both weft yarns, and elastic selvage warps engaged by both weft yarns.

5. Elastic fabric having in combination elastic warps disposed in two planes, the elastic warps of each plane being confined solely thereto, each elastic warp of the top plane being superposed vertically above an elastic warp of the bottom plane, non-elastic wefts, and binder warps lying vertically over the bottom plane elastic warps and vertically below their corresponding superposed top plane elastic warps.

6. Elastic fabric having in combination elastic warps, non-elastic wefts disposing the elastic warps at all points in two separate planes, and non-elastic warps disposed exclusively in a plane between the other two planes.

7. Elastic fabric having in combination elastic warps, non-elastic wefts disposing the elastic warps at all points in two separate planes, and non-elastic stretch-limiting warps disposed exclusively in a plane between the other two planes.

8. Two-ply elastic fabric having in combination elastic warps, two weft yarns each interwoven exclusively with a separate set of elastic warps to form two separate plies non-elastic binder warps each engaged by both weft yarns and disposed thereby wholly between the two plies, and elastic selvage warps engaged by both weft yarns at the ends of each pick.

9. Elastic fabric according to claim 8 in which filler warps are laid in between the two plies.

10. Elastic fabric having in combination elastic warps, weft yarns interwoven therewith and forming two plies, each weft yarn engaging with the elastic warps of its own ply exclusively, non-elastic binder warps engaged by both weft yarns, a plurality of elastic warps at each edge of the fabric engaged by both weft yarns at the end of each pick and woven identically with respect to the wefts, a plurality of elastic warps adjacent those at the edge and engaged by only one weft yarn and woven identically with respect thereto, and a plurality of elastic warps adjacent the latter warps engaged by the other weft yarn alone and woven identically with respect thereto. 

